A hypodermic syringe typically includes a barrel having a hub, a plunger slidably received in the barrel and a syringe needle positioned on the barrel hub. Hypodermic syringes are essential tools for a health care provider's treatment of their patients. Single-use hypodermic syringes are particularly important to individuals who self-medicate in a home setting to control medical conditions such as diabetes.
Single-use needles in the art are typically integrally formed with the syringe barrel hub or are separate components which are removably secured to the barrel hub. Where removable, the syringe needle typically includes a plastic collar having an interior surface which is connected or friction fit onto the hub of the syringe and an exterior surface which includes a series of equidistantly spaced splines to assist in grasping and removing the needle. The more common connectors include screw, LUER-LOK.RTM., and LUER-SLIP.TM. connectors. In use, the needle is typically either inserted into a medication vessel to obtain a dosage of medication to be administered to a patient or inserted into the patient to withdraw and evaluate a fluid sample. Thereafter, the hypodermic syringe is discarded either in its entirety or after the syringe needle is somehow separated from the syringe.
Proper syringe disposal has become a primary health concern as a result of the recent rise in the number and type of diseases carried by human bodily fluids and the increasing incidence of discarded syringes being reclaimed for illegal drug use. In the past, a diabetic patient in a home environment, for example, could dispose of used insulin syringes, including their needles, by collecting the syringe and attached needle in a container, such as a milk, bleach, or other similar container, and discarding the container in the regular household trash when the container was filled. Now, it is neither safe nor practical to dispose of such syringes in household trash cans as they have become fertile supply sources for those who seek syringes and their needles for their illicit drug use. The easiest and most effective way to insure the proper and final disposal of such syringes is to disable them from re-use.
Other devices have been produced to disable or dispose of used syringes and syringe needles. However, the prior art discloses devices which only separate the syringe needle from the syringe barrel hub and, consequently, fail to disable the syringe from re-use. Both the syringe barrels and the needles therefore, are available for retrieval and re-use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,035, issued to Andrews, discloses a needle removing device which severs the syringe needle from the syringe hub along a length of the syringe needle shaft. However, the Andrews device fails to permanently disable the syringe barrel as its re-use is enabled by removing the needle hub after having severed the needle tip from the syringe hub, and replacing it with another syringe needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,911, issued to Nethercutt, et al., discloses a needle severing device which is repeatedly sanitized and reused in clinical settings. The Nethercutt device severs a substantial portion of the syringe barrel and syringe needle from the syringe. A removable receptacle collects the severed waste until the receptacle is filled and emptied. The Nethercutt device is designed and intended for re-use. In use, it places the user at risk of exposure to the air-borne fluid particulate that results from the severing of the syringe in an open environment. The Nethercutt device also exposes the user to the risk of injury or contamination arising from handling of the storage receptacle which is full of severed needles and mixed waste fluids and must be emptied.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,628, issued to Greenhouse, discloses a device for severing a syringe needle having disadvantages similar to those of the Nethercutt device. The Greenhouse device includes a severing mechanism which severs a substantial portion of the syringe hub from the syringe barrel at the same time that it severs the syringe needle and collects the severed syringe portions in a collecting receptacle. This device fails to insulate the user from exposure to airborne fluid particulate resulting from the severing process and places the user at risk of injury in the event that the device falls and contaminated shreds of needle or needle hub escape from an unprotected opening in the collecting receptacle. Moreover, the Greenhouse device comprises a complicated and costly operating mechanism and is not readily disposable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,448, issued to Ball, discloses a wall-mounted needle extraction unit which requires a user to hold a used syringe in a perpendicular position with respect to the wall-mounted device while the other hand operates the device. The Ball device is disposed in a wall unit and exposes the user to the risks inherent in emptying the collection unit, such as spillage and inadvertent needle sticks, or the risks incident in retrieving those spilled needles. The Ball device fails to protect the user from the risk of exposure to the airborne fluid particulate created as a result of the severing process. It is neither portable nor readily disposable. Moreover, it fails to contemplate disabling the used syringe barrel from re-use. Rather, like the device of the '035 patent to Andrews, the Ball device focuses exclusively on shearing the needle from the syringe.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and an apparatus for disabling a single-use hypodermic syringe such as an insulin syringe or a tuberculin syringe from re-use by severing the syringe barrel above the syringe needle.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for disabling a single-use syringe that provides a severing mechanism disposed within an enclosed area to minimize the conveyance of air-borne fluid particulate which may be created during the severing process and protect the user from the risks of exposure to that particulate.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for disabling and disposing of a single-use syringe wherein an operator's insertion of a syringe into a syringe receiving opening and rotation of an actuating mechanism initiates displacement of a severing device to sever the syringe barrel from the syringe and allow for the collection of the severed portion of the syringe barrel, including the syringe needle, in a receiving receptacle pending disposal.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for disabling and disposing of a single-use hypodermic syringe whose concepts are specifically adapted for disabling and disposing of varying types of single use syringe needles such as tuberculin or insulin syringes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for disabling and disposing of a single-use syringe which provides a syringe receiving opening that is closed when the apparatus is not in use to prevent the inadvertent escape of the stored, severed syringe barrels.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for disabling and disposing of a single-use hypodermic syringe wherein the receiving receptacle and receptacle cover are integrally formed to preclude spillage of waste or waste fluid such that the apparatus may be shipped to and disposed of by a selected facility for disposing of such wastes.